The Saving Grace
by GravityDefier7827
Summary: Alfred has always had a weakness for children. Who would have guessed that weakness is what brought his family together.


_Hey! GravityDefier7827 here. I know I have a few stories out in the open right now (Miracle Girl and A Silver Lining), but I couldn't help but write something new. Don't be turned off by the OC, hopefully you'll come to really like her. This is also set after Batman Begins, but before The Dark Knight Hope to hear some feedback on what you all think!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing from Nolan's Dark Knight universe._

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"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way! Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh! Jingle bells, jingle bells..." In the front seat of her white, 1998 Camry, 29 year old Marissa Ford sang the holiday tune off-key to her giggling child strapped to her booster seat in the back. 4 year old Sophie slammed her tiny fists up and down in entertainment as _Jingle Bells_ continued, not caring that her mother forgot the words halfway through the song and randomly made up the rest of the tune's lyrics.

Going to the Dave's Market was somewhat of a tradition for the small family. Every Saturday morning they'd drive off from their apartment, slither the Camry through the columns of traffic, and enter the even busier supermarket. Today was the same, only it was lightly snowing, which put Sophie in a snow-crazed frenzy.

"Mommy!" she had screamed while Marissa was strapping her into the car, "I wan' snow!"

Buckling the last constraint, she had replied, "I promise we'll go out later, Soph, okay? Don't you want to head to the store, first?"

She seemed to be lost in her thoughts for a moment; a little crease appeared on her forehead and her plump lips pouted in contemplation. Finally, she said very seriously, "Yes. Stowe, ten snow."

Placing a kiss to her forehead, Marissa responded, "You're the boss, Princess."

Since then, the little girl in the back wouldn't stop giggling.

The song ended on the radio as Marissa pulled slowly into a parking spot. As usual, the store was as busy as ever. Most of the spots were taken and people seemed to be pouring in and out of the doors. When Sophie was successful free of her seat, Marissa took a firm hold of her daughter's hand as she led them to the automatic doors. A small laugh escaped the toddler's mouth when a strong gust of wind blew her blonde curls around her face.

"The wind mess'd my hair, Mommy," she laughed.

"We'll fix it inside, okay?" Marissa said as she walked faster.

They were hit by a blast of warm air as they crossed the threshold to enter the store. Shaking her shoulders unconsciously, Marissa walked with Sophie through the first wide aisle of Christmas goods, which was packed with people looking to buy presents. Sophie tugged on her mother's hand, seeing a bright, flashy doll and car, but was dragged forward by Marissa, who knew that with the budget already being spread this month, she couldn't afford any more gifts.

"But...Mommy..." the child started.

"Shh, Soph. Maybe later, okay?"

With a small nod and a sad face, the two were off again, this time heading straight for the food section, which was the whole reason why they came to the store in the first place. Saturday was their day to shop for food for the week, and Dave's not only had the best quality items, but the best priced, too.

Eventually, they found themselves at the end of the pasta aisle; Marissa looking for their favorite macaroni and cheese and Sophie staring fascinatingly at the lines on the tile floor. Letting her hand go, Marissa stepped forward and grabbed two boxes, unfortunately their favorite was out of stock, to compare. She studied the back and spoke quietly to herself, "220 per serving...240 per...$2.50 and $2.80...Soph, which one do you want? Vel..."

Marissa trailed off after she had turned around and found that her daughter was not where she was 15 seconds ago. Literally, she was right there. A Moment. Ago. And. Now. She. Is. _Gone. _After the initial stopping of her heart, it instantaneously went off like helicopter blades as she stood frozen, staring at the spot where Sophie should have been.

Then, like a firecracker, her mind sparked into action. Dropping the boxes of pasta, not listening to the noise they made as they hit the floor, she ran the rest of the length of the aisle and quickly looked into the clearing full of large coolers and dairy products before her.

When no sign of Sophie was found, she made a sharp left and quickly ran forward, checking every aisle for her little girl. But...wait...couldn't she be hiding behind some one? The aisles were packed after all...and she's so tiny...

"Shit," Marissa mumbled under her breath when she realized that she'd have to check every aisle.

And so she did. Starting at the end of the store, she hastily combed her way through the seas of people, muttering, "Excuse me," and "Sorry," more times that she could count. Still, when the length of the pasta aisle laid before her, there was no Sophie. So, now running to her right, she checked the aisles there. But, no luck.

By now, her heart felt like it was going to explode, her head was dizzy, a thin layer of sweat covered her body, and tears were starting to form. This was _exactly _what she was afraid of. This was _exactly_ why being a mother scared her so much. Losing her child was like getting stabbed in the heart. Actually, she'd rather take a stab then have to experience this despair that increased inside of her every moment Sophie was missing.

Her breathing was labored as she ran past the clothing and electronic sections, quickly scanning for any signs of the blonde haired, green eyed, purple coated girl. When nothing was found, Marissa increased her pace as she headed towards the front of the store. It was now looking like she would have to talk to management. She'd already wasted enough time looking through those damn aisles. By now Sophie could have been -

Marissa stopped dead in her tracks, her blood turning to ice. No. No. No. No, no, no, _nononono. _Don't think like that. Sophie's fine. She's probably in the toy department. Yeah, that's it. Who would take a little girl from a market? Surely someone would have noticed...

Still, the fear of Sophie being taken did not recede from her mind as she resumed her fast pace towards the front of the store. All she had to do now was get some one on the loud speaker and call for Sophie and everything would be fine. They could go get some hot chocolate from Starbucks and everything would go back to normal. It will be fine.

As she pushed her way through the crowds to get the the main aisle, she stopped for a second time, as did her heart. 30 feet away, a blonde haired, green eyed, purple coated girl sat in the arms of a tall, white haired man. She was clutching a bright, flashy doll in one hand and a car in the other, displaying her treasure to the older man. With a wide smile on his face, the man laughed and hoisted Sophie up more securely in his arms.

The relief that Marissa felt was unexplainable. It felt as if she had just broken the surface of the ocean after being submerged for 10 years. A strangled half-sob, half-sigh left her lips as she sprinted forward to her daughter and the old man. Not even bothering to apologize to the people she had pushed out of her way, she practically ran into the old man and reached for daughter.

"Sophie, Sophie, Sophie..." she chanted over and over again as the man helped transfer the child into her arms.

"Well, well, well," the man said with a heavy British accent, "Looks like we've found Mummy, haven't we?"

Clutching Sophie's head and running her hands through her blonde curls, Marissa said, "Thank you. Thank you _so much_. You have no idea...just...God, thank you. What...what can I do to repay you? Please, let me -"

The man held up his hands, "Really, Miss, there's nothing to repay."

Still breathing heavily, she asked, "What happened? I mean...how...?"

He smiled, his blue eyes crinkling with the movement. "I was walking in and saw her trying to reach for a doll. When I saw that no one was looking at her or seemed to be paying any attention to her, I came up to her and asked, 'Where's your Mummy, little one?' And she told me that you were somewhere over there," he pointed in the direction of the food aisle, "and said that she had followed the lines on the floor and ended up back here."

Gripping onto Sophie a little bit tighter, Marissa said again, "Thank you...so much. Really. Are you sure there isn't anything I can do? I mean...you did just rescue my daughter..."

He seemed to think. "Well," he started, "it's been a long time since I've been able to be in the presence of little ones. How would it be if I took us out for lunch? My treat."

She smiled softly. "Of course, but I couldn't let you pay. Please, let me -"

He cut her off with the raising of his hand. "I insist."

After a moment, she nodded. "Okay."

"Lovely," the man smiled. "Oh, and for the record," he held out his hand, "Alfred Pennyworth, at your service."

Shifting Sophie, who had been strangely quiet, to one arm, she shook Alfred's hand. "Marissa Ford. And this," she turned the child in her arms so that she was facing Alfred, "is Sophie."

"A pleasure," he said. Then, after seeing the toy clutched in Sophie's hands, he added, "Now, how about we get that doll?"

Alfred led Marissa and her child through the crowds of people and to a register, when Sophie's toy was bought. As they exited the stores, neither of the two adults remembered that they were here for food, and that their Saturday's were thrown off-course.

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_Thoughts?_


End file.
